For Unto Us a Child Is Born

This week we celebrate Christmas and the birth of the Savior. And so, for this week, our “ponderizing” scripture will be Isaiah 9:6,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Here are my FHE lesson plans:

What does this scripture mean to you?

“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..”

He was sent here for us. He is a gift from our Heavenly Father to us.

“The government shall be upon his shoulder...”

In the Dec 2009 New Era, it says, “In ancient Israel, the priests and kings were clothed with a robe and wore the insignia of their office on the shoulder (see Isaiah 22:21–22). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came “as one having authority” (Matthew 7:29). And He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords during the Millennium, when “he reigns whose right it is to reign” (D&C 58:22; see also Articles of Faith 1:10).”

What are some of the names he is called? Why is he called them? What do these names for him teach us about him?

Have each person in the family choose one of these names (it is okay if more than one person chooses the same one) and ponder on how Jesus Christ can be that name for them personally. 

 Encourage them to share their thoughts & testimony. 

 Encourage each person to study and ponder that role that Christ plays in their life during this week as we celebrate Christmas.

Choose You This Day

This week's FHE lesson is really simple.  We are "ponderizing" Joshua 24:15 this week, so we'll be discussing that scripture and what it means.  Some of the points we'll discuss are:

• Note that the people that Joshua is talking to are still holding on to old traditions, worshiping many gods.  We cannot serve two masters.  We cannot serve the Lord and also serve other gods.  If we are choosing to serve other gods, we are choosing NOT to serve the Lord.
• What are other gods we might "serve" today?
• Money
• Success
• Popularity
• Laziness
• Selfishness
• Who does our family choose to serve?
• How can we show that we choose to serve the Lord?

I've printed these handouts for each person in our family - in size 3x5, back to back, on cardstock.  After each family member completes the write-in portion, we will laminate them so they can be used as bookmarks. 

To download these free files, go to this website.

We'll end the lesson by sharing testimonies.

"Then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me..."

Here is this week's FHE lesson:

Introduce this week's scripture:

Exodus 19:5-6

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

“And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

Let's break this down...

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant...”

Every saving ordinance is accompanied by a covenant, including baptism and temple ordinances. What are some of the promises we make through the covenant of baptism, which we renew when we take the sacrament?

• Take upon us the name of Christ.
• Always remember Him.
• Serve Him and keep His commandments.
• Bear one another's burdens.
• Mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.
• Stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places.

“...then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.”

What does it mean to be a peculiar treasure unto Heavenly Father?

In the Feb 1997 Ensign, then Elder Russell M. Nelson said:

“In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term from which peculiar was translated is cgullah, which means ‘valued property,’ or ‘treasure.’ …

“With that understanding, we can see that the scriptural term peculiar does not mean ‘queer’ or ‘odd’ at all. It signifies ‘valued treasure,’ ‘made’ or ‘selected by God.’ Thus, for us to be identified by servants of the Lord as his peculiar people is a compliment of the highest order. …

“… These are [the] latter days. … We are the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are, in fact, the hope of Israel. We are God’s treasure, reserved for our particular place and time.” (A More Excellent Hope)

“And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests...”

The church is referred to as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), and those who will inherit the celestial kingdom are referred to as “priests and kings” (D&C 76:56).

This means that individuals and families who keep covenants can receive all of the ordinances and blessings of the priesthood and be exalted in the celestial kingdom with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

“...and an holy nation...”

BibleDictionary, Holiness: “According to the [Old Testament] things or places were holy that were set apart for a sacred purpose. ... The Israelites were a holy people because they stood in a special relationship to Jehovah. … The word holy... came to refer to moral character. ...Israel must be holy in character because the God of Israel was holy.”

“These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

Who are the children of Israel?  (We are.)

So who is this scripture for?  (Us)

What can we do to show Heavenly Father that we want to be part of His “peculiar” people?

Encourage family members to ponderize Exodus 19:5-6 and close with testimonies.

And this is life eternal...

I am late posting this, but here is what we did for FHE this week:

We had spent 2 weeks "ponderizing" D&C 78:19 so we started this week by discussing some of our experiences and feelings about that.

Then I introduced our scripture for this week: John 17:3:

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

During our very first ponderizing scripture FHE lesson, we had discussed this a little bit, so it was kind of a refresher.  But this time, we continued the discussion deeper.  We also read John 17:20-23:.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

We determined that to "know Jesus Christ" is to become one with him, in the same way that he is one with the Father.  Also that we need to do more than just know that he is our savior, we need to know him AS our savior.

We noticed that in this prayer, Christ prays for not just those that are with him, but those who will believe on their words.  As we share the gospel with others, and they believe on our words, that puts us in the group that are "with Christ".

We ended by going back to that first ponderizing scripture, Moses 1:39:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

If it is God's glory to bring to pass eternal life of man, and eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ, then as we come to know them better, and help others to know them, we are adding to God's glory.

We discussed ways that we can know our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ better:

• Personal Prayer
• Scripture Study
• Fulfilling Callings
• Serving Others
• Sharing the Gospel

This week we will ponderize John 17:3 and focus on doing these things that will help us to know Them better.